LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Gl  FT    OF 


Class 


THE  SUPERINTENDENT 


AND 


SUPERINTENDENCE 


PREPARED  AND  ISSUED  BY 

C.  P.  GARY, 

State  Superintendent  of  Schools. 


MADISON,      WIS 
SEPTEMBER,    1908. 


THE  SUPERINTENDENT 


AND 


SUPERINTENDENCE 


PREPARED  AND  ISSUED  BY 

C.  P.  GARY, 

State  Superintendent  of  Schools, 


MADISON,      WIS. 
SEPTEMBER,    1908. 


I.  INTKODUCTION. 

It  is  a  conviction  of  mine  that  the  superintend- 
ents and  principals  of  this  state  might  in  many 
cases,  if  not  in  most,  secure  much  better  results 
than  they  are  now  doing  in  the  direction  of  ad- 
ministration and  supervision.  This  conviction 
has  been  forced  upon  me  mainly  through  observa- 
tion, through  reports  of  inspectors,  and  through 
statements  made  by  teachers  who  have  applied 
for  countersignature  of  diplomas.  It  has  often 
happened  that  teachers  who  were  refused  coun- 
tersignature were  amazed  to  learn  that  their  work 
had  not  been  wholly  satisfactory.  Many  have 
told  me  that  in  the  course  of  their  first  year's  ex- 
perience they  had  never  had  a  single  word  of  sug- 
gestion or  criticism, — never  the  slightest  assist- 
ance of  any  kind.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  in 
some  cases  at  least  these  statements  were  much  ex- 
aggerated if  not  utterly  untrue,  but  assuming  this 
to  be  the  case  such  a  body  of  testimony  no  doubt 
has  significance  when  taken  in  the  large,  if  not  in 
every  individual  instance.  If  I  may  judge  by 

[3] 
181159 


my  own  early  experiences  and  by  such  observa- 
tion as  I  have  had  opportunity  to  make,  I  feel 
confident  in  saying  that  many  young  principals 
and  superintendents  feel  abashed  in  the  presence 
of  experienced  teachers  and  awed  by  the  asser- 
tiveness  of  some  of  those  who  have  had  but  little 
experience.  Furthermore,  if  teachers  discover 
that  the  principal  is  a  bit  timid  and  uncertain, 
they  often  manipulate  the  situation  to  suit  their 
own  conveniences  and  wishes.  School  boards 
often  say  that  their  principals  or  superintendents 
do  not  know,  the  rudiments  of  business  adminis- 
tration as  ai)plied  to  schools.  This  no  doubt  is 
often  an  expression  of  annoyance  due  to  actual 
effectiveness  on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  or 
principal  in  bringing  about  needed  but  unwel- 
come changes.  Nevertheless,  I  think  there  is 
often  ground  for  such  statements.  Lest  I  be  mis- 
understood, however,  I  wish  to  say  emphatically 
that  it  is  not  my  belief  that  the  superintendents 
and  principals  of  Wisconsin  are  less  efficient  than 
superintendents  or  principals  elsewhere  or  that 
they  are  not  upon  the  whole  a  capable  and  con- 
scientious body  of  men  and  women. 

Passing  on  from  these  preliminary  remarks,  I 
shall  take  the  liberty  of  making  such  suggestions 
in  brief  as  occur  to  me. 

[4] 


II.    THE  SUPEEIISTTENDENT. 

"The  superintendent  has  been  compared  to  a 
foreman — he  multiplies  his  value  by  directing 
others.  The  modern  city  superintendent  is  more 
than  an  overseer;  he  is  a 'captain  of  industry.  He 
does  not  merely  follow  the  direction  of  employ- 
ers. He  makes  regulations  for  himself,  and 
often  for  his  employers  as  well  as  his  subordi- 
nates. He  not  only  supplies  the  demand  of  the 
market,  but  he  moulds  public  opinion  to  create 
demand." 

"The  superintendent  derives  his  power  from 
the  board,  but  he  must  be  to  a  large  extent  inde- 
pendent of  the  board.  The  superintendent's  du- 
ties do  not  end  with  the  board,  the  teachers  or  the 
schools.  His  learning  and  experience,  as  well  as 
his  professional  opportunity  for  social  service,  im- 
pose upon  him  the  duty  of  a  share  in  the  social 
leadership  of  his  city,  and  entitle  him  to  the  privi- 
leges of  the  highest  social  and  intellectual  life. 
If  he  accepts  anything  less  than  this  he  belittles 
his  office  and  discredits  his  calling."  These 

[5] 


somewhat  lengthy  quotations  are  taken  from  one 
of  the  Columbia  University  Studies.* 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  the  last  quotation 
that  the  superintendent  should  be  a  society  leader, 
or  even  a  "society  man."  But  he  should  be  at 
home  in  society  and  should  be  welcome  in  the 
best,  if  not  the  most  exclusive,  society  in  his  city. 
The  superintendent  even  in  a  small  city  needs  to 
be  a  well-trained,  gifted,  broad-gauge  man. 
The  Committee  of  Fifteen  would  have  him  pos- 
sess the  following  six  qualifications : 

1.  Good  moral  character. 

2.  Good  physique. 

3.  Common  sense. 

4.  Administrative  ability. 

5.  Experience  in  school  work. 

6.  Liberal  (and  proficient)  education. 
Perhaps  the  above  includes  the  following,  but 

I  should  like  to  add  for  the  sake  of  emphasis,  that 
the  superintendent  should  have  a  judicial  mind, 
and  he  should  be  fearless  and  incorruptible. 

And  if  I  might  add  one  more  qualification  and 
still  have  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  I 
would  say  he  should  be  so  permeated  with  enthu- 
siasm that  those  who  associate  with  him  must  be 
warmed  by  it,  and  so  filled  with  optimism,  or  at 


*  See  Rollins,   "School  Administration    in    Municipal  Goyern- 
ment." 

[6] 


least  meliorism,  that  the  spirit  is  promptly  caught 
by  teachers,  school  board,  and  schools.  The  su- 
perintendent usually  has  a  heavy  load  to  lift,  or 
drag,  as  you  please  to  phrase  it.  The  sunshine  of 
his  nature  must  thaw  out  the  coldness  and  indif- 
ference of  others.  He  must  be  strength  to  the 
weak,  courage  to  the  timid,  and  an  inspiration  to 
all.  "He  must  show  breadth,  generosity  and  fair- 
ness." He  has  large  responsibilities  and  should 
be  granted  unstinted  authority.  And  as  Superin- 
tendent Draper  said  when  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  "He  should  be  as  secure  in  his 
position  as  the  members  of  the  supreme  court  of 
the  state."  He  should  only  be  secure,  however, 
when  he  is  efficient.  If  he  is  found  to  be  cow- 
ardly, truckling,  scheming,  narrow-minded,  or 
morally  unsound,  he  should  be  dismissed. 

No  superintendent  should  infer  from  what  has 
been  said  that  he  is  to  be  an  autocrat  or  assume  a 
lordly  attitude  toward  the  school  board,  the  teach- 
ers or  anybody  else.  Certainly  if  he  has  the  mer- 
its he  should  have  he  will  be  modest  and  not  fool- 
ishly assertive.  He  will  not  volunteer  too  much 
at  board  meetings,  will  not  take  it  as  a  personal 
thrust  if  a  board  member  or  the  board  as  a  whole 
fails  to  see  things  as  he  sees  them  or  to  adopt  his 
recommendations.  The  board  has  rights,  duties 

[7] 


and  responsibilities.  The  members  must  do  their 
own  thinking,  must  determine  how  much  weight 
to  attach  to  the  superintendent's  arguments.  The 
man  who  is  not  willing  to  have  his  board  do  this 
would  like  to  reduce  the  members  to  figure-heads. 
The  superintendent  should  counsel  with  his  board 
upon  all  matters  of  importance  and  should  be  on 
terms  of  amity  with  every  member.  If  by 
some  unfortunate  combination  of  circumstances 
strained  relations  come  about  between  the  super- 
intendent and  a  member,  the  superintendent 
should  so  conduct  himself  as  to  convince  the  mem- 
ber that  he  is  a  broad-gauge  gentleman,  capable 
of  differing  from  another  without  petty  spite  or 
discourtesy. 

The  superintendent  should  never  allow  himself 
to  get  into  a  wrangle  with  anybody.  Tact  will 
generally  be  sufficient  to  prevent  wrangling,  but 
sometimes  it  has  to  be  supplemented  by  prompt 
decision. 

To  phrase  the  matter  a  bit  differently,  a  super- 
intendent should  be  a  large-hearted,  free-minded, 
self-confident  citizen  of  the  world.  He  should 
be  able  to  appear  at  ease  among  the  best  citizens 
of  the  community  in  which  he  works ;  should  be 
interested  in  things  other  men  are  interested  in; 
should  meet  the  doctor,  the  preacher,  the  lawyer, 

[8] 


the  merchant  of  his  community  on  terms  of  easy 
equality.  JSTo  board  of  education  has  a  moral 
right  to  employ  as  superintendent  of  their  city 
schools  any  man  who  is  not  up  to  this  level  of 
culture  and  ability. 

Eead  Chancellor,  "Our  Schools,"  D.  0.  Heath 
&  Co.;  Perry,  "The  Management  of  a  City 
School/'  The  Macmillan  Co.;  Rollins,  "School 
Administration  in  Municipal  Governments ;" 
Fitzpatrick,  "Minor  Problems  of  the  School  Su- 
perintendent/' Ed.  Rev. 


[9] 


III.  THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  THE  SUPEBIN- 
TENDENT'S  DUTIES. 

More  and  more  educational  matters  will  come 
to  be  governed  by  business  principles.  Some 
good  people  are  shocked  at  the  idea  of  bringing 
together  the  words  "business"  and  "education" ; 
but  the  fact  is  that  if  education  does  not  become 
more  business-like  there  are  serious  troubles  ahead 
for  the  educator  and  for  the  cause  of  education. 
This  does  not  mean  commercializing  education, 
but  it  does  mean  organizing  education. 

From  one  important  point  of  view  the  school 
system  of  a  city  is  like  a  great  manufacturing 
plant.  It  should  be  run  with  an  eye  to  efficiency 
and  economy.  The  efficiency,  it  is  true,  can  not 
be  determined  with  the  exactitude  that  the  effi- 
ciency of  a  manufacturing  plant  can  be  deter- 
mined. Who  has  the  wisdom  to  determine  the 
relative  values  for  character-building  of  two  dif- 
ferent systems  or  two  different  teachers'?  Who 
the  wisdom  to  determine  the  relative  values  of  in- 
tensive and  extensive  study  in  the  different  grades 

[10] 


and  branches  ?  Nevertheless,  these  are  matters 
we  shall  know  more  about  when  we  have  applied 
proper  methods  of  study  to  them  as  the  manufac- 
turer applies  appropriate  methods  to  his  prob- 
lems. 

The  man  "who  superintends  the  business" 
should  be  an  expert  on  the  professional  side,  and 
should  be  well  informed  on  the  administrative 
side.  He  should  know  whether  the  pupils  in 
every  room  get  enough  fresh  air,  whether  the 
lighting  is  adequate,  the  heating  satisfactory,  the 
seating  the  best  possible.  He  should  know  what 
will  be  done  in  case  of  fire,  what  fire  protection 
there  is  for  each  school  building.  He  should 
know  wrho  is  not  in  school  that  should  be  in  school 
and  why ;  who  drops  out  of  school  and  why;  tie 
illness  of  pupils  and  the  cause  (so  far  as  possi- 
ble) .  He  should  know  that  every  teacher  has  an 
adequate  supply  of  materials  and  apparatus  for 
accomplishing  the  results  expected  of  her.  He 
should  know  what  rooms  are  over-crowded  and 
what  relief  is  possible;  what  the  strength  and 
what  the  weakness  of  every  teacher.  He  should 
know  the  kind  of  service  the  janitor  gives, — 
whether  rooms  are  kept  clean  and  free  from  dust, 
the  windows  clean,  the  halls  and  stairways  clean, 
the  rooms  properly  heated  in  due  season  and  kept 
uniform  throughout  the  day.  He  should  know 

[in 


whether  the  text-books  are  the  best  on  the  mar- 
ket; whether  the  teachers  are  the  most  efficient 
to  be  had  for  the  money,  or  whether  a  slight  in- 
crease in  salary  will  enable  him  to  keep  some  de- 
sirable teachers  who  would  otherwise  leave,  or  se- 
cure efficient  teachers  in  place  of  some  who  are 
not.  He  should  know  what  children  are  suffer- 
ing from  bad  teeth,  poor  eye-sight,  poor  hearing, 
growths  in  the  nose,  cramped  lung  capacity,  etc,, 
and  what  can  be  done  about  it.  He  should  know 
how  his  teachers  compare  in  the  matter  of  effi- 
ciency in  getting  work  done,  in  preventing  tru- 
ancy, tardiness  and  absence.  He  should  know 
what  teachers  are  doing  hack-work,  what  ones 
are  mechanical,  what  ones  are  not  working  up  to 
their  full  capacity.  The  superintendent  should 
know  whether  the  course  of  study  is  fitted  to  the 
3  per  cent  who  go  to  college  or  the  97  per  cent 
who  do  not.  He  should  know  whether  the 
schools  meet  the  actual  needs  of  the  community 
or  whether  they  have  a  course  "borrowed"  from  a 
distant  city  where  conditions  are  very  different,  or 
perchance  a  course  handed  down  from  mediaeval 
times.  If  the  city  is  building  school  houses,  the 
superintendent  should  be  able  to  give  valuable 
advice  upon  many  points  tending  to  greater  econ- 
omy or  greater  adaptability. 

[12] 


The  superintendent  should  know  other  systems 
of  schools  and  should  keep  informed  as  to  im- 
provements in  the  "educational  plants"  of  the 
most  progressive  cities  of  the  size  of  his  own. 

A  large  program!  Yes,  and  this  is  not  an  ex- 
haustive list  of  his  duties  as  "business  manager" 
of  the  system.  He  must  not  only  know  about 
these  things,  but  he  must  act,  and  act  efficiently 
and  promptly.  If  his  board  is  apathetic  and  re- 
fuses at  many  points  to  give  the  necessary  assist- 
ance, he  must  use  tact,  discretion,  and  persistence. 
He  may  make  judicious  use  of  the  newspapers, 
may  explain  the  needs  of  the  schools  to  leading 
business  men, — without  criticising  his  board.  He 
may  likewise  make  public  addresses  and  explain 
the  needs  of  the  schools,  always  judiciously. 
When  the  public  begins  to  be  interested  and  to 
move,  the  board  is  likely  to  become  active.  I 
counsel  discretion  and  tact  in  these  matters  for  the 
reason  that  in  his  capacity  as  administrator  or 
business  manager,  "The  superintendent  is,"  as 
Chancellor  says,  "essentially  a  servant  of  the 
board."  This  he  holds,  and  correctly  I  think,  is 
not  true  of  the  superintendent  as  supervisor;  that 
is,  the  superintendent  in  his  strictly  professional 
capacity.  True  it  is  that  some  of  the  matters  men- 
tioned above  are  so  nearly  professional  (educa- 

[13] 


tional  in  the  narrow  sense)  that  a  well  marked 
line  can  not  be  drawn.  This  is  especially  true  in 
what  is  said  as  to  the  efficiency  of  teachers.  Yet 
the  relative  efficiency  of  his  men  is  a  matter  for 
every  business  manager  to  understand. 

Every  superintendent  might  well  ask  himself 
seriously  this  question,  "If  I  were  managing  a 
manufacturing  plant  and  knew  no  more  of  the 
details  of  the  business  than  I  know  of  my  schools, 
and  if  I  were  as  uneconomical  and  wasted  as 
much  material  as  I  now  waste,  and  turned  out  no 
better  product  and  no  more  of  it  than  I  now  do, 
could  I  hold  my  job?" 

There  is  great  need  of  uniform  educational 
statistics  of  a  kind  that  is  vital  and  reliable.  Only 
by  a  united  effort  on  the  part  of  city  superinten- 
dents can  we  arrive  at  the  essential  facts.  For  in- 
stance, how  can  we  save  in  expense  of  fuel  and 
add  to  salaries  ?  What  kind  of  heating  apparatus 
is  most  economical,  what  coal  is  most  economical? 
What  kind  of  training  is  best  for  the  teachers? 
These  and  many  more  questions  of  a  like  kind 
may  be  answered  in  the  course  of  time  with  rea- 
sonable certainty,  if  serious  efforts  are  made  in 
that  direction. 

I  would  recommend  as  a  starting  point  a  care- 
ful study  of  Snedden  and  Allen's  School  Eeports 
and  School  Efficiency, — The  Macmillan  Com- 

[14] 


pany.  There  is  a  good  chapter  on  the  same  sub- 
ject in  Allen's  Efficient  Democracy, — Dodd, 
Mead  &  Company. 


A  FEW  ADDITIONAL  KEFEEEtfCES. 

Perry,  "The  Management  of  a  City  School," 
The  Macmillan  Company. 

Chancellor,  "Our  Schools,"     D.  C.  Heath  & 
Company. 

Eeport  of  the  Educational  Commission  of  Chi- 
cago. 

"The  Superintendent  as  a  Man  of  Affairs," 
Maxwell.    N.  E.  A.,  1904. 

"The  Superintendent  in  Small  Cities,"  Gorton. 
K  E.  A.,  1900. 

"School  Supervision,"  Edson.  Education,  Vol. 
13. 

"The   Assistant   Superintendent,"   Reynolds. 
N.  E.  A.,  1904. 

"The  Supervision  of  a  City  School  System," 
American  Education,  June,  1906. 

Pickard,  "School  Supervision."    Appleton. 

Morrison,  "The  Ventilation  and  Warming  of 
School  Buildings."    Appleton. 

Briggs,  "Modern  American  School  Buildings." 

[15] 


Rowe,  "The  Lighting  of  School  Rooms/' 
Longmans. 

Burnham,  "School  Hygiene/'  Pedagogical 
Seminary,  Vol.  2. 

Shaw,  "School  Hygiene."  The  Macmillan 
Co. 

Burrage  &  Bailey,  "School  Sanitation  and 
Decoration/'  D.  0.  Heath  &  Co. 

Tyler,  "Growth  and  Education."  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Co. 

Strayer,  "City  School  Expenditures." 

Rowe,  "The  Physical  Nature  of  the  Child." 
The  Macmillan  Co. 


[16] 


IV.  TEACHEES'  MEETINGS. 

Teachers'  meetings  are  generally  the  bugbear 
of  young,  inexperienced  or  timid  principals  of 
schools.  On  second  thought,  I  think  I  might 
safely  make  the  statement  still  more  inclusive. 
There  are  usually  in  a  system  of  schools  a  few 
teachers  who  "know  it  all"  and  are  ready  to 
throw  cold  water  on  any  attempt  of  the  principal 
or  superintendent  to  conduct  meetings  or  encour- 
age the  study  of  educational  problems.  There  are 
also  generally  a  few  hoity-toity  young  misses  who 
are  not  willing  to  spare  the  time  from  social  af- 
fairs. These  two  classes  of  persons  speak  lightly 
and  slightingly  of  the  teachers'  meetings, — in  fact, 
often  ridicule  them. 

The  problem  is  one  that  should  not  be  "solved 
by  evasion."  The  following  suggestions  are  of- 
fered in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  of  service  to 
superintendents. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOE  TEACHEES'  MEETINGS. 

1.  Send  teachers  (one  or  two  at  a  time)  to  a 
good  school  within  convenient  reach,  and  later 

[17] 


have  a  report  on  work  inspected.  Teachers 
should  observe  what  is  to  be  seen  in  the  various 
grades  so  far  as  time  permits.  They  should 
especially  note  the  work  in  such  special  subjects 
as  drawing,  nature  study,  domestic  science,  man- 
ual training,  etc.  The  report  should  be  sympa- 
thetic and  discriminating.  General  discussion 
should  follow  the  report. 

2.  Get  some  local  man  or  woman  to  come  in 
and  address  informally,  the  teachers,  for,  say, 
thirty  minutes  and  take  the  remainder  of  the  time 
for  questions  and  discussion.    Care  must  be  taken 
not  to  invite  cranks  or  hobby-riders,  at  least  not 
till  you  are  sure  you  want  that  sort  of  thing.    The 
speaker  should  be  sane,  but  should  be  outspoken 
and  should  be  able  to  give  the  point  of  view, 
vaguely  felt  or  distinctly  formulated,  held  by  the 
general  public. 

Get  the  principal  or  superintendent  of  a  near-by 
city,  the  county  superintendent,  a  state  inspector 
of  schools  who  happens  to  be  in  the  vicinity,  the 
state  superintendent,  or  any  one  else  who  may 
have  a  message,  and  is  available. 

3.  Ask  your  teachers  to  go  on  Saturday  to  the 
county  teachers'  association,  if  you  think  the  sub- 
jects announced  are  promising.     If  there  is  such 
a  meeting  in  your  city  on  Friday,  get  the  board 
to  allow  you  to  dismiss  so  that  teachers  may  get 

[18] 


the  benefit  of  anything  that  promises  to  be  worth 
while.  Get  the  teachers  to  go,  if  possible,  to  sec- 
tion and  state  associations.  If  you  can  get  the 
money  for  it  and  your  city  is  of  considerable  size, 
hold  a  two-day  institute  in  the  fall  with  paid  in- 
structors. If  your  city  is  small,  try  to  get  others 
to  join  with  you,  or  you  can  join  with  someone 
else.  The  teaching  force  should  have  several 
treats  of  this  sort  every  year.  I  am  not  thinking 
of  entertainments,  but  of  the  kind  of  thing  that 
sends  teachers  away  thinking  and  talking  and  re- 
solving. 

The  above  suggestions  and  others  that  will  oc- 
cur to  the  superintendent  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  plans  for  systematic  study  and  work  that 
should  be  undertaken  as  a  part  of  the  year's  cam- 
paign. Getting  the  teaching  force  under  motion 
may  be  like  getting  a  freight  car  under  motion  by 
steady  pushing,  but  it  can  be  done  by  persistent 
effort  governed  by  tact  and  good  judgment.  The 
superintendent  should  not  undertake  to  do  it  all 
himself.  His  skill  is  shown  in  what  he  gets  others 
to  do.  Of  course  he  should  contribute  an  impor- 
tant share,  and  should  direct  the  whole.  He  will 
not  fail  to  get  and  utilize  all  the  valuable  help  and 
suggestions  his  teaching  force  can  give.  If  there 
are  but  few  teachers,  some  of  whom  are  teaching 
in  the  high  school  and  some  in  the  grades,  the 

[19] 


problem  is  peculiarly  difficult.  There  can  be 
found,  however,  subjects  that  will  appeal  to  all. 
For  instance,  the  subject  of  habit  forming  and 
habit  breaking,  the  cultivation  of  the  power  of 
forming  imagery,  how  to  secure  distinct  enun- 
ciation, how  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  public 
in  the  schools,  how  to  train  pupils  to  think,  etc., 
etc.  A  good  general  problem,  and  one  covering 
a  large  part  of  the  educational  field,  is  how  to 
make  our  instruction  "stick,"  i.  e.,  how  to  make 
it  a  permanent  acquisition.  This  includes  a  study 
of  memory,  power  of  illustration,  methods  of  as- 
signing lessons,  reviews,  use  of  knowledge,  and 
so  on  indefinitely.  When  the  principal  of  a  small 
school  wishes  to  take  up  such  a  subject  as  primary 
reading,  for  example,  he  should  work  only  with 
the  person  or  persons  concerned.  This  is  a  tech- 
nical subject  in  which  high  school  teachers,  or  up- 
per grade  teachers  are  only  remotely  interested 
and  there  is  no  need  of  forcing  them  to  listen  to 
such  a  discussion.  For  general  meetings  general 
subjects  should  be  the  rule. 

MOEE     SPECIFIC      SUGGESTIONS     FOE     HIGH 
SCHOOL  TEACHEES'  MEETINGS. 

(Upper  grade  teachers  might  well  join  in  most 
of  these  studies.) 

[20] 


1.  Study  of  adolescence. 

G.  Stanley  Hall's  two  large  volumes  on  this 
subject  may  be  too  big  an  undertaking  but  if  that 
is  the  case  there  are  less  ambitious  books  to  use  as 
guides.  Probably  the  best  book  to  suggest  is 
Hall's  abridgment  of  his  larger  work.  The  title 
is  "Youth."  There  are  many  articles  on  the  var- 
ious aspects  of  this  subject  to  be  found  in  educa- 
tional and  psychological  journals. 


2.  The  educational  value  of  the  different  high 
school  subjects. 

The  books  that  are  likely  to  be  most  suggestive 
in  this  connection  are  Educational  Aims  and  Val- 
ues, Hanus;  the  Meaning  of  Education,  Butlere 
These  books  contain  chapters  on  other  subjects 
relating  to  high  school  education.  There  is  no 
end  of  articles  on  the  topic  "educational  values'7 
in  the  educational  journals  such  as  Education, 
Educational  Eeview,  School  Eeview,  etc.  There 
was  for  about  a  decade  beginning  about  1896,  a 
furor  of  discussion  on  this  topic.  See  also  for  lit- 
erature the  back  numbers  of  N.  E.  A.  Proceed- 
ings, also  De  Garmo's  Principles  of  Secondary 
Education,  Vol.  1. 

[21] 


3.  Methods  of  teaching  high  school  subjects. 

Read  De  Gtarmo's  Principles  of  Secondary 
Education,  vol.  2.  Young's  Teaching  of  Mathe- 
matics. Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Elementary 
Mathematics.  Bourne's  Teaching  of  History  and 
Civics.  Chubb,  The  Teaching  of  English.  Car- 
penter, Baker  and  Scott,  The  Teaching  of  Eng- 
lish. Bennett  and  Bristol,  The  Teaching  of  Latin 
and  Greek.  Smith  and  Hall,  The  Teaching  of 
Chemistry  and  Physics.  Lloyd  and  Bigelow, 
The  Teaching  of  Biology. 

The  School  Review,  published  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  Press,  is  devoted  entirely  to  sec- 
ondary education,  and  both  the  back  numbers  and 
the  current  numbers  should  be  found  in  every 
high  school  for  reference  purposes. 

4.  Teaching  pupils  how  to  study. 

Read  Hinsdale's  Art  of  Study.  For  additional 
reading  matter,  see  references  in  the  book  named. 
Cramer's  Talks  to  Students  on  the  Art  of  Study 
is  good.  For  teachers  of  science,  The  Method  ^i 
Darwin  by  the  same  author  may  be  recommended. 


The  above  topics  will  suggest  others.     Those 
given  illustrate  general  topics  and  special  topics. 

[22] 


Most  special  topics  are  best  handled  with  individ- 
ual teachers.  The  superintendent  or  principal 
should,  if  need  be,  see  to  it  that  the  teachers  are 
supplied  with  fresh  professional  literature  relat- 
ing to  their  special  subjects.  A  good  way  to  in- 
terest teachers  in  books  or  articles  is  for  the  super- 
intendent to  read  them  first  himself,  then  encour- 
age, or  urge  the  teachers  to  read  the  same,  so  that 
they  may  talk  the  matter  over  in  detail  with  him. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOE  MEETINGS  OF  GEADE 
TEACHEES. 

It  should  be  held  in  mind  that  a  teachers'  meet- 
ing should  either  inspire  or  give  technical  knowl- 
edge that  will  be  useful  in  teaching.  By  inspira- 
tion I  mean  the  kind  of  influence  that  causes 
teachers  to  go  away  with  a  firm  resolution  to  do 
better  work  in  one  or  more  directions  in  the  fu- 
ture. The  technical  knowledge  may  be  of  the  na- 
ture of  methods,  of  subject  matter,  or  of  knowl- 
edge of  children  and  the  proper  function  of  the 
school  in  the  community.  Such  a  book  as  Dewey's 
School  and  Society  suggests  the  relationship  be- 
tween the  school  and  the  world.  Such  an  analysis 
as  the  above  suggests  many  topics,  among  which 
are  the  following.  The  topics  may  be  sub-divided 
to  any  extent  desired. 

[23] 


1 .  The  health  and  growth  of  school  children. 

Read  Tyler's  Growth  and  Education  inten- 
sively and  discuss  the  same  at  a  series  of  meetings. 
All  teachers  from  kindergarten  through  the  high 
school  ought  to  be  interested  in  part  or  all  of  this 
book.  There  is  much  more  good  literature  on  this 
subject,  of  course,  but  I  believe  it  will  be  found  if 
wanted.  I  might,  however,  add  Rowe's,  The 
Physical  Nature  of  the  Child,  one  of  the  best 
books  of  its  kind. 

2.  Departmental  teaching  in  the  grades. 

Eead  as  a  basis  for  discussion  Kilpatrick's  De- 
partmental  Teaching   in    Elementary    Schools. 
(Would  it  not  be  safe  and  worth  while  to  try  the 
experiment  of  departmental  teaching  in  the  upper 
grades  in  a  mild  way?) 

3.  Method  of  the  recitation. 

Read  and  discuss  Hamilton's  The  Recitation, 
or  McMurry,  The  Method  of  the  Recitation. 

4.  Training  pupils  to  think. 

Read  as  a  basis  Nathan  Schaeffer's  Thinking 
and  Learning  to  Think. 

[24] 


5.  Story  telling. 

Eead  Bryant's  How  to  Tell  Stories  to  Chil- 
dren, and  discuss  and  illustrate  in  meeting;  the 
same  author's  book  of  stories  for  children  might 
also  be  used. 

6.  General  pedagogy. 

Eead  Bagley's  The  Educative  Process,  and 
supplement  it  with  Keith's  Elementary  Educa- 
tion, Thorndike's  Principles  of  Teaching,  Salis- 
bury's The  Theory  of  Teaching,  and  O'Shea's 
Education  as  Adjustment. 

7.  Child  study. 

Eead  Kirkpatrick's  Fundamentals  of  Child 
Study.  Sunplement  with  Amy  Tanner's  The 
Child. 

Eead  with  your  teachers,  "Mind  in  the  Mak- 
ing," by  Swift.  This  is  one  of  the  best  books 
of  the  past  year.  The  superintendent  can  not  af- 
ford to  let  it  go  unread.  It  does  not  fit  in  ex- 
actly under  any  heading  as  it  is  not  a  systematic 
treatise.  It  deals  with  genetic  psychology  mainly ; 
it  is  scientific  but  popular  in  style. 

[25] 


8.  Make  a  study  of  the  best  educational  literature 
found  in  current  magazines. 

Let  each  of  several  teachers  report  on  articles 
of  more  than  ordinary  value.  Watch  for  the  cir- 
cular letter  to  be  sent  out  from  time  to  time  by  the 
state  superintendent,  calling  attention  to  articles 
of  value. 

10.  The  methods  of  teaching  various  common 
school  branches. 

See  Common  School  Manual,  also  no  end  of 
good  books  and  articles.  Winterburn's  Methods 
of  Teaching  might  be  used,  or  Cronson's  Methods 
in  Elementary  School  Studies.  The  following 
are  valuable : 

Briggs  &  Coffman,  Reading  in  Public  Schools  ; 
Smith,  The  Teaching  of  Elementary  Mathemat- 
ics; McMurry's  Special  Method  in  History,  and 
in  various  other  subjects ;  Chubb,  The  Teaching 
of  English ;  Arnold,  Reading :  How  to  Teach  It ; 
Huey,  The  Psychology  of  Reading. 

11.  School  management. 

The  little  pamphlet,  How  to  Have  a  Good 
School,  prepared  by  the  state  superintendent  for 
the  use  of  country  teachers,  will  be  found  useful. 
In  the  Institute  Circular  for  1908  is  a  series  of 

[26] 


questions  based  upon  it,  also  suggestions  for  using 
it.  This  pamphlet  might  well  occupy  several 
meetings.  Both  pamphlets  may  be  had  free  of 
charge  on  application,  so  long  as  the  supply  lasts. 
It  would  be  well  for  all  teachers  to  read  this  pam- 
phlet, whether  it  is  used  as  a  basis  for  discussion 
or  not. 

Bach  of  the  topics  suggested  above  is  compre- 
hensive enough  to  afford  a  year's  solid  work  for  a 
corps  of  teachers  bent  upon  study.  They  will 
seem  brief  to  those  only  who  are  of  the  "touch 
and  go"  variety. 

I  shall  be  pleased  to  give  help  and  suggestions 
by  letter  on  application.  Just  a  word  of  cau- 
tion. Go  at  this  work  enthusiastically,  if  at  all, 
and  take  up  topics  in  the  careful,  leisurely  way 
(detailed  way)  that  you  would  if  you  had  a  de- 
cade to  complete  the  work.  Hurrying  over  topics 
is  a  sure  way  to  kill  interest  for  the  reason  that 
nothing  of  value  results  from  such  a  method.  I 
have  suggested  books,  only  a  few  of  the  best,  in 
connection  with  the  topics.  I  think  a  book  will 
generally  be  found  necessary.  In  fact,  more 
books  than  have  been  suggested  will  usually  be 
needed. 

These  books  should  be  owned  by  the  school, 
and  should  form  in  time  a  pedagogical  library  of 
respectable  size  for  the  use  of  teachers. 

[27] 


THE  SELF-IMPKOVEMENT  OF  THE 
SUPERINTENDENT. 

All  study  of  his  problems  tends  toward  the  self- 
improvement  of  the  superintendent.  The  amount 
of  self-improvement  depends  upon  the  intensity 
of  the  study,  and  the  good  sense  that  governs  and 
directs  it.  Some  men  are  capable  of  directing 
their  own  efforts,  others  are  not.  Capable  as  Dr. 
Harris  was  when  he  was  young,  he  tells  that  he 
commenced  psychology  and  philosophy  by  study- 
ing phrenology.  It  took  him  some  time  to  learn 
he  was  on  the  wrong  road.  To-day  many  a  man 
wastes  his  energy  and  goes  off  at  a  tangent  be- 
cause he  needs  the  directing  hand  of  a  capable 
guide.  No  man  has  time,  at  least  at  first,  for  any- 
thing except  that  which  is  the  best  of  its  kind  for 
his  specific  purpose. 

I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that  every  school 
man  needs  a  "side-line"  of  study,  something  that 
arouses  his  enthusiasm,  something  he  is  never  too 
tired  to  take  up.  What  this  is  must  depend  upon 
his  tastes  for  it  must  be  something  to  his  liking. 
It  should,  however,  be  something  solid,  something 
in  which  there  is  an  abundance  of  good  printed 

[28] 


material,  supplemented  if  possible  by  opportun- 
ity for  original  observation  and  study.  Botany 
illustrates  the  type.  One  who  so  puts  In  his  spare 
time  will  ultimately  be  an  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject of  his  choice,  unless  he  fe  "born'sliort"  in  nat- 
ural ability. 

The  student  should  include  one  or  two  of  the 
best  monthly  or  quarterly  journals  on  the  subject 
so  that  he  may  fully  keep  up  with  the  times.  He 
will  find  not  only  new  and  fresh  materials,  but 
will  be  sure  to  note  the  announcements  and  re- 
views of  new  books  as  they  appear.  That  broad 
range  of  related  subjects  included  under  such 
names  as  pedagogy,  psychology,  philosophy,  eth- 
ics, anthropology,  sociology,  etc.,  is  to  my  think- 
ing, the  best  for  the  school  master  for  the  reason 
that  it  is  all  related  more  or  less  directly  to  his 
work  and  is  broad  and  comprehensive  in  scope. 
Perhaps  I  am  partial  to  such  subjects  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  they  have  been  my  constant  study 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  more.  Any  sub- 
ject will  do,  but  if  it  is  not  directly  related  to  one's 
work  there  is  constant  need  of  watching  so  as  not 
to  let  it  absorb  too  much  time  and  thought.  I  have 
found  it  an  excellent  plan  to  pick  out  a  few  of  the 
best  and  most  productive  men  and  read  inten- 
sively and  repeatedly  everything  they  produce, 
either  in  the  way  of  books  or  articles.  This  is  a 

[29] 


far  better  plan  than  to  read  at  random  whatever 
falls  in  one's  way.  The  one  produces  systematic 
thinking,  the  other  leaves  the  reader  in  a  state  of 
mental  confusion,  at  least  this  is  true  if  he  is  work- 
ing on  a  subject  that  is  in  a  formative  stage,  as  is 
the  fact  in  the  case  of  all  the  subjects  mentioned 
above. 

One's  success  in  such  a  line  of  procedure  ulti- 
mately depends  upon  the  fund  of  energy  available 
and  upon  the  existence  of  intellectual  interests. 
Some  men  have  neither ;  some  have  one  but  not 
the  other.  Both  may  be  increased,  as  a  rule,  if 
the  proper  laws  are  observed.  If  the  school  mas- 
ter is  hopelessly  short  in  either  surplus  energy  or 
intellectual  interest  he  need  not  expect  to  make  his 
mark  in  the  educational  field. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  I  wish  to  add  that 
every  school  man,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  famil- 
iar with  one  or  more  of  the  best  books  dealing 
with  the  general  subject  of  evolution.  If  he  has 
not  time  to  read  Darwin,  Huxley,  Fiske,  Wal- 
lace and  others  of  their  type,  he  should  at  least 
read  with  care  such  a  summary  of  th$  subject  as 
is  to  be  found  in  Kellogg' s  Darwinism  To-day. 
A  man  who  is  not  at  least  fairly  well  informed  in 
this  direction  belongs  in  his  thinking  to  a  past  age. 
My  prediction  is  that  biology  is  now  about  to 
make  its  best  contributions  to  education. 

[30] 


V.  INSPECTION. 

A .  Things  that  help  to  make  perfection. 

1.  See  to  it  that  teachers  keep  neat  black- 
boards.    The  work  should  be  neat  and  when 
work  is  erased  it  should  be  entirely  erased,  not 
only  the  words  and  figures  should  be  erased,  but 
the  board  should  be  free  from  clinging  dust. 

2.  The  teacher's  desk  and  the  pupils'  desks 
should  be  in  good  order. 

3.  The  floor  should  be  clean  and  the  desks  and 
wood-work  generally  should  be  free  from  dirt 
and  dust.     The  floor  should  be  free  from  such  lit- 
ter as  scraps  of  paper  and  pencil  shavings. 

4.  The  library  books  should  be  erect  on  the 
shelves  and  free  from  dust. 

5.  No  corner  should  be  used  as  a  catch-all  for 
maps  and  the  like. 

6.  All  reference  material  and  apparatus  and 
supplies  should  be  in  good  condition  and  easy  of 
access. 

7.  Cobwebs  should  not  adorn  the  corners  or 
ceiling,  or  dead  flies  be  left  clinging  to  walls  or 
ceiling. 

[31] 


8.  The  windows  should  be  clean. 

9.  The  halls  should  have  the  same  attention  as 
the  rooms. 

10.  The  yard  should  be  free  from  litter  of  all 
kinds  and  from  weeds  and  scraps  of  paper  in  par- 
ticular.    The  fence  should  be  in  good  condition, 
or  be  entirely  removed. 

11.  The  basement  and  the  toilet  rooms  should 
be  in  a  sanitary  condition ;  they  should  also  be  free 
from  obscene  writing  and  drawings  and  should 
be  kept  so. 

12.  The  laboratories  should  be  overhauled  in 
the  fall  and  put  in  proper  condition  and  kept  so. 
Pupils  should  be  trained  to  clean  up,  and  to  put 
everything  in  its  place  when  through  using  it. 

B.  The  more  vital  things. 

1.  See  to  it  that  you  are  able  to  account  for  all 
pupils  of  school  age  in  your  district  or  city. 
This  is  no  small  task  in  a  large  town  or  city.     If 
you  can  not  do  it  all  yourself,  farm  it  out  in  such 
way  that  the  end  may  be  attained. 

2.  Visit  all  new  teachers,  both  high  school  and 
grade,  the  first  week  if  possible.     Talk  with  them 
about  their  work.     Encourage  as  much  as  you 
think  wise.     The  teacher  who  is  new  to  you  may 
assume  that  praise  in  some  small  particular  is 
complete  approval  of  her  work.     Establish  the 

[32] 


habit  of  talking  as  freely  with  teachers  face  to 
face  as  you  would  talk  about  them  to  the  board 
when  questioned;  yes,  even  more  freely.  The 
supervisor  should  in  all  cases  of  adverse  criticism 
give  the  teacher  the  opportunity  to  present  her  ex- 
cuses for  the  conditions  that  are  found  unsatisfac- 
tory. Frequently  she  will  be  voluble  in  this  con- 
nection. The  supervisor  after  hearing  what  she 
has  to  say  should  make  his  final  statement  of  the 
situation  as  he  sees  it  in  terms  so  clear  and  defin- 
ite that  the  teacher  will  have  no  excuse  for  con- 
cluding that  she  has  explained  the  criticism 
away, — unless  she  has  actually  done  so.  In  the 
latter  event  the  teacher  ought  as  a  rule  to  be  able  to 
remedy  the  defect  promptly.  The  point  to  ob- 
serve is  that  neither  the  supervisor  nor  the  teacher 
should  rest  satisfied  with  a  mere  understanding  of 
the  difficulty.  The  difficulty  should  be  removed. 
The  bearing  of  the  principal  should  be  cordial  but 
dignified.  There  should  be  that  in  the  bearing 
and  speech  of  the  supervisor  which  removes  fear, 
but  evokes  respect  and  deference  and  stimulates 
the  desire  to  improve.  This  is  for  many  superin- 
tendents, especially  in  their  early  years,  difficult 
to  hit  off  properly.  Some  have  it  by  nature, 
others  have  to  acquire  it, — or  sooner  or  later  re- 
tire from  the  business. 

3.  The  supervisor  should  acquaint  the  new 
[33] 


teachers  with  the  ideals,  special  features,  fads  and 
the  like  for  which  the  schools  stand. 

The  inexperienced  teacher  should  have  the 
early  and  faithful  attention  of  the  supervisor.    I 
fear  many  supervisors  make  the  mistake  of  think- 
ing the  young  teacher  fresh  from  college  or  nor- 
mal school  needs  no  help.     She  is  just  the  one 
who  does  need  help,  and  is  most  thankful  for  it. 
In  my  own  experience  as  a  professional  trainer 
of  teachers  it  was  a  wish  often  repeated  to  myself 
that  I  might  have  the  "finished  product"  for  a 
week  or  two  in  the  fall  when  the  conditions  were 
real,  not  artificial.     I  was  confident  I  could  be 
of  more  service  to  them  in  the  particular  position 
they  were  filling  than  I  could  be  in  ten  times 
that  period  of  "practice  teaching."     The  young 
teacher  is  plastic  in  the  first  few  weeks  in  a  regu- 
lar position  and  generally  eager  to  learn;  after 
that  it  often  is  a  hard  struggle  both  for  her  and 
for  the  supervisor  to  break  up  bad  habits,  or  over- 
come the  evil  effects  of  early  blunders.     Some 
supervisors  tell  their  new  teachers  they  "may  sink 
or  swim"  for  themselves.     Some  do  not  say  this, 
but  are  too  timid  and  helpless  to  try  to  assist. 
Such  principals  ought  promptly  to  be  reduced  to 
the  ranks,  or  dismissed,  and  an  efficient  supervisor 
employed.     A  good  supervisor  can  easily  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  a  corps  of  teachers  by  a 

[34] 


third  or  a  half.     If  most  of  the  teachers  are  new 
or  inexperienced  he  may  even  double  the  effi- 
ciency.    This  is  the  chief  way  for  him  to  earn 
his  relatively  large  salary.      If  he  does  nothing 
but  teach  a  class  or  two  and  serve  as  a  sort  of  clerk 
the  remainder  of  the  time,  he  should  get  less 
not  more  than  the  other  teachers.     Do  I  hear 
the  reply,  " Yes,  but  what  shall  I  do?     I  have 
had  no  training.     I  do  not  know  how  to  teach 
elementary  subjects.     I  do  not  know  how  to 
govern  children.     I  do  not  know  what  stand- 
ard of  order  should  prevail.     I  would  cut  a  silly 
figure  trying  to  teach  teachers  how  to  teach  or 
govern."     True,  I  shall  assume,   but  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?     You  hardly  want  to 
obtain  money  under  false  pretenses.     You  are 
paid  to  supervise,— if  not,  you  are   (probably) 
paid  too  much  relatively  if  not  absolutely.     The 
following  I  would  suggest  is  the  least  you  can  do, 
if  you  do  not  wish  to  resign.     Get  the  common 
school  manual  of  this  state  and  study  the  outline 
on  primary  reading,  for  example,  till  you  under- 
stand it.     Then  see  if  your  primary  teacher  is 
teaching  in  the  manner  described.     If  not,  try  to 
study  her  method  to  see  if  it  is  superior.     If  not, 
take  up  the  matter  with  her.     Ask  her  if  she  is 
familiar  with  the  manual.     If  she  is,  talk  it  all 
over  with  her  in  detail  and  get  her  reasons  for 

[35] 


using  the  method  she  is  using.  If  you  are  not 
convinced,  tell  her  so  and  persuade  her  or  even 
command  her  to  use  the  other  method,  after  she 
has  had  time  to  master  it  in  its  spirit  and  details. 
The  extreme  measure  should  not  be  taken,  how- 
ever, unless  you  are  convinced  that  her  method 
is  antiquated  or  decidedly  inferior.  The  spon- 
taneity of  teachers  should  be  carefully  preserved 
and  fostered  by  the  supervisor,  for  it  is  a  most 
precious  quality,  all  too  rare.  But  slip-shod 
methods,  snatched  up  because  they  were  the  first 
to  suggest  themselves,  are  not  to  be  tolerated. 
Teachers  need  the  spontaneity  that  is  the  outcome 
of  mastery  of  the  situation.  This  comes  only  as 
the  result  of  sustained  thought  and  diligent  appli- 
cation. 

In  the  case  of  the  reading,  to  continue  my  illus- 
tration, the  supervisor  who  is  conscious  of  his 
weakness  will  do  well  to  seek  an  early  opportun- 
ity to  see  a  first-class  primary  teacher  at  her  work 
and  later  talk  with  her  about  her  methods. 

The  conscientious  man,  paid  for  supervising, 
will  say  to  himself  that  he  will  not  rest  day  or 
night  till  he  knows  how  to  help  his  inefficient 
teachers.  Of  course,  I  do  not  here  refer  to 
teachers  who  are  evident  failures.  For  this  class 
there  is  no  help,  and  they  should  give  place 

[36] 


promptly  to  efficient  teachers.  He  will  take  up 
each  subject  in  detail;  will  study  the  teacher  and 
try  to  puzzle  out  wherein  her  teaching  and  gov- 
erning fall  short,  will  study  books  on  the  subjects 
that  trouble  him  most,  will  talk  with  experienced 
and  successful  supervisors,  will,  in  short,  do  any- 
thing he  can  think  of  that  promises  relief  from 
the  accusing  conscience. 

The  principal  who  is  expected  to  teach  all  the 
time,  except  possibly  one  or  two  recitation  pe- 
riods, is  placed  in  a  difficult  position, — unless  his 
responsibilities  sit  lightly  on  his  shoulders.  His 
free  periods  are  the  same  every  day;  he  can  at 
best  see  but  little  of  the  work  of  other  teachers. 
The  board  does  not  appreciate  the  value  of  a  su- 
pervisor, and  the  teachers  are  not  used  to  super- 
vision, and  perhaps  resent  it  as  meddling.  Add 
to  this  the  fact  that  the  principal,  if  he  does  his 
duty  by  his  pupils  and  the  numerous  subjects  he 
teaches,  must  put  in  a  large  share  of  his  time  in 
studying.  What  is  to  be  done?  Frankly,  the 
situation  is  difficult  in  the  extreme,  but  the  fol- 
lowing is  what  one  man  did.  He  was  interested 
in  the  pupils  the  other  teachers  had  in  their  rooms. 
He  learned  to  know  them  at  recesses  and  out  of 
school.  He  talked  with  them  at  odd  times  about 
their  studies  and  about  their  general  interests. 

[37] 


They  enjoyed  having  him  do  this  for  he  was  a 
man  of  sense.  He  chatted  with  the  other  teach- 
ers at  recess,  and  at  odd  moments  about  the  chil- 
dren, their  studies,  their  progress.  The  teachers 
came  to  look  upon  him  as  a  friend  and  counselor. 
They  talked  over  their  difficulties  with  him,  urged 
him  to  come  in  and  see  their  work  and  give  sug- 
gestions. When  at  their  wits'  end  they  sent  their 
worst  pupils  to  him  for  punishment.  He  had  his 
own  classes  well  in  hand  after  a  few  weeks  and 
could  leave  them  for  an  indefinite  period  if  he 
wished.  He  frequently  gave  his  pupils  written 
work  and  visited  other  rooms  in  the  meantime. 
It  will  not  be  difficult  to  believe  that  this  man  is 
to-day  widely  known  as  an  educator.  He  had 
ability,  interest  in  his  work,  and  resourcefulness. 
There  was  no  time  in  the  program  for  him  to  su- 
pervise, yet  the  schools  were  admirably  super- 
vised. In  a  small  system  the  principal  should 
know  and  be  interested  in  every  child. 

There  are  only  two  things  absolutely  essential 
to  success  in  supervision ;  namely,  native  ability 
and  interest.  If  the  interest  be  lacking,  a  fair 
substitute  is  conscientiousness.  Of  course,  it  is 
well  if  to  the  above  may  be  added  technical  traiii- 
ing  in  supervision  to  begin  with. 


[38] 


The  supervisor  will  find  in  "How  to  Have  a 
Good  School,"  issued  by  this  department,  many 
of  the  common  faults  of  teachers  mentioned. 
See  for  instance  the  "Don'ts,"  also  the  "Criti- 
cisms," and  the  "Questions,"  all  of  which  will  be 
found  in  the  last  few  pages  of  the  pamphlet. 

Sad  to  relate,  many  principals  seem  interested 
in  the  high  school  only.  They  thus  neglect  the 
many  for  the  few.  Again,  it  is  impossible  to 
have  a  good  high  school  when  poorly  trained  stu- 
dents are  sent  to  it  from  the  grades. 


One  of  the  first  things  for  a  supervisor  to  do  is 
to  inform  his  teaching  force  what  is  expected  of 
them  in  the  way  of  results.  They  should  know, 
too,  the  rules  of  the  game. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  instruction  should 
be  given  in  a  manner  not  to  offend  or  discourage 
the  sensible  but  spirited  teacher. 

"The  general  rule  might  be  laid  down  that  all 
instruction  to  teachers  should  deal  with  educa- 
tional principles.  The  instruction  should  be 
traced  back  to  its  philosophical  source,  so  that 
teachers  may  continually  receive  training  in  the 
thought  that  all  sound  advice  rests  upon  funda- 
mental, indisputable  laws." 

[39] 


"Perhaps  the  chief  thing  to  observe  is  the  spirit 
of  the  school,  its  atmosphere,  that  psychological 
and  social  condition  which  grows  out  of  the  rela- 
tions existing,  the  motive  and  spirit  of  the  work, 
in  short,  the  life  of  the  school,  which  is  its  real 
educative  force.  This  is,  of  course,  intangible 
and  invisible,  but  it  can  be  spiritually  dis- 
cerned."-  — GILBEBT,  The  School  and  Its  Life. 

The  writer  just  quoted  has  in  mind  inspection 
in  a  large  city  where  the  inspector  is  not  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  the  work  of  every  teacher. 

is  astonishing  how  quickly,  almost  instantane- 
ously, a  competent  inspector  can  "size  up"  the 
work  of  a  teacher  he  is  not  acquainted  with. 
This  is  a  fact  teachers  are  usually  unable  to  ap- 
preciate. The  supervisor  who  can  not  ordinar- 
ily in  five  minutes  or  less  pass  fairly  accurate 
judgment  upon  the  general  character  of  the  work 
of  a  teacher  is  either  inexperienced  or  has  missed 
his  calling.  It  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  this 
judgment  is  infallible,  or  that  it  analyzes  out  in 
detail  the  teacher's  weakness  or  her  strength.  It 
does,  however,  enable  the  supervisor  to  sense  the 
"atmosphere"  of  the  room,  to  note  the  bearing  of 
the  teacher,  and  the  general  attitude  of  pupils. 
Such  inspection  has  little  if  any  value  for  the  in- 
spector except  on  his  first  visit,  and  if  he  makes 

[40] 


this  early,  as  he  should,  he  will  be  likely  to  find 
the  teacher  in  the  process  of  getting  her  school 
in  shape  and  the  test  can  not  be  fairly  applied. 

"Having  seen  and  felt  conditions  of  the  school, 
how  is  the  visitor  to  help  the  teacher? 

"Little  can  be  done  at  the  time :  a  word  of  en- 
couragement, a  bit  of  praise,  a  suggestive  ques- 
tion, an  inspiring  or  stimulating  remark,  all  aptly 
dropped  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  disturb  the  order 
of  things.  If  there  occurs  an  intermission  or  a 
brief  interval  between  classes,  a  pleasant  and 
helpful  little  conversation  may  be  wedged  in. 
The  teacher  should  never  be  humiliated  before 
her  class  by  suggestion,  criticism,  or  even  ex- 
ample." 

"Noisy  and  boisterous  visitation  should  be 
avoided." 

"If  the  teacher  is  doing  badly  and  needs  severe 
criticism,  if  she  is  discouraged  and  needs  bright- 
ening, if  the  work  is  especially  original  and  sug- 
gestive and  merits  further  consideration  and  de- 
velopment— under  these  and  other  special  condi- 
tions the  visit  should  be  followed  by  the  private 
conference/' 

The  superintendent,  granted  that  he  has  held 
his  position  long  enough  to  secure  results,  makes 
the  schools  what  they  are.  If  they  are  dis- 

[41] 


orderly,  inefficient,  disappointing,  the  superin- 
tendent will  be  found  inefficient.  If  the  schools 
are  orderly,  the  teachers  happy  and  contented,  the 
spirit  of  the  schools  good,  the  superintendent  will 
be  found  efficient.  True  it  is  that  a  wrangling 
board,  a  board  bent  upon  securing  and  keeping 
local  teachers  whether  efficient  or  not,  may  so 
handicap  a  superintendent  as  to  make  his  work 
difficult  in  the  extreme.  A  good  board  shows  its 
good  sense  and  business  ability  by  employing  the 
best  superintendent  to  be  found  for  the  money 
at  the  disposal  of  the  board  for  this  purpose,  and 
giving  him  free  rein  to  select  teachers  and  to  rid 
the  system  of  inefficient  teachers.  The  board 
should  actually  do  the  electing  and  the  discharg- 
ing, but  it  should  be  on  the  recommendation  of 
the  superintendent.  If  he  is  not  found  to  be  hon- 
est, fearless,  and  capable,  the  board  should  seek 
another  man.  One  of  the  gravest  dangers  in  any 
system  of  schools  is  the  loading  up  of  the  force 
with  teachers  who  live  in  the  city—  -"local  talent." 
Frequently  they  are  poorly  trained  or  not  trained 
at  all.  They  generally  in  such  cases  get  in  through 
"pull,"  hold  their  jobs  through  "pull,"  and  heaven 
only  knows  wheji  or  how  they  will  get  out.  If 
"local  talent"  is  to  be  employed  at  all,  it  should  be 
trained  and  'tested  talent,  so  the  risk  may  be  re- 
duced to  a  minimum. 

[42] 


VI.  SOME  TYPES  OF  SCHOOL  MEN  WHO  DO 
NOT  STRENGTHEN  THE  PROFESSION. 

In  treating  briefly  this  difficult  and  delicate 
subject  I  shall  describe  types  of  men  that  have  fal- 
len under  my  personal  observation.  It  may 
chance  the  reader  knows  men  who  illustrate  the 
types  mentioned. 


1 


/V/O     AAJ.Vy'J.Al/J-V/AJ.V^VA. 

The  man  who  relies  upon  "pull"  to  get  and  to 
hold  positions. 

Such  men  are  tHeir  own  worst  enemies.  They 
are  building  on  the  sand  when  they  ought  to  be 
building  on  the  rock.  It  is  true  they  are  weak 
characters  and  hence  unfit  for  the  great  responsi- 
bility of  training  the  future  citizens  of  the  state. 
"Pull"  is  a  form  of  graft  and  is  scorned  by  all 
high-minded  men  who  wish  to  merit  what  they 
get.  The  protean  manifestations  of  this  form  of 
graft  are  bevond  enumeration.  Generally  it  is 
some  form  of  dicker  or  deal  by  which  the  recipi- 
ent is  to  get  something  he  does  not  deserve  for 
helping  somebody  else  get  what  he  does  not  de- 
serve. 

[43] 


2.  The  disloyal  man. 

The  disloyal  man  is  generally  able  to  manifest 
his  peculiar  traits  best  in  subordinate  positions 
where  he  is  continually  "knocking"  in  more  or 
less  subtle,  or  crude,  ways  according  to  his  men- 
tal make-up.  The  shrewd  knocker  has  his  work 
down  to  a  fine  point.  He  speaks  in  praise  of  his 
superior  in  some  minor  matters,  then  stabs  him  in 
the  vitals.  An  ordinary  sneak-thief  is  respect- 
able compared  with  such  a  man.  The  thief  takes 
only  a  little  property  that  can  be  replaced,  if  need 
be,  but  the  persistent,  shrewd  knocker  can  rob  his 
superior  of  that  which  is  worth  more  to  him  than 
all  else.  A  still  subtler  and  more  cowardly  type 
gets  his  helpers  to  do  the  knocking. 

It  is  a  mistake,  however,  to  think  of  the  dis- 
loyal man  as  always  in  a  subordinate  position. 
Disloyalty  is  a  psychological  fact  that  is  charac- 
teristic of  a  type  of  man,  regardless  of  the  posi- 
tion he  holds.  Men  of  this  type  are  always  self- 
ish and  "small,"  devoid  of  magnanimity;  always 
trying  to  magnify  their  own  importance,  con- 
ceited, ready  to  take  to  themselves  credit  that  be- 
longs to  another.  Such  men  are  never  happier 
than  when  blowing  their  own  horn,  unless  it  be 
when  they  are  saying  disparaging  things  of  other 
men  they  envy. 

[44] 


A  corps  of  teachers  can  never  trust  out  of  their 
sight  a  principal  or  superintendent  who  has  the 
taint  of  disloyalty  in  his  veins.  They  are  liable 
to  be  betrayed  at  any  critical  moment.  The 
loyal  man  has  ideals  by  which  he  will  stand 
through  thick  and  thin.  The  disloyal  man  is  an 
opportunist, — fawning  when  the  wind  is  right,  a 
traitor  when  the  chance  offers. 

3.  The  timid  man. 

He  always  wants  to  speak  in  whispers,  is 
afraid  to  make  any  move  till  he  is  sure  things  are 
going  to  come  out  right.  He  thinks  much  of  the 
"loaded  wagon."  Sometimes  he  really  has  prin- 
ciples, but  is  constitutionally  too  timid  to  express 
them  or  make  a  stand  for  them.  He  stands 
around  and  shivers  till  the  storm  is  over.  Often 
he  has  no  principles,  but  follows  anybody  or  any- 
thing that  "makes  a  noise  like  success."  His 
board  or  his  friends  never  can  find  out  where  he 
stands  till  it  is  immaterial  where  he  stands. 

4.  The  bull-headed  man. 

This  type  is  not  the  polar  opposite  of  that  just 
described,  for  the  opposite  of  timid  is  courageous. 
The  bull-headed  man  is  a  man  of  one  idea.  He 
does  not  see  things  in  their  complexity  and  In 

[45] 


their  real  relationships.  He  is  too  narrow  for 
that.  When  such  a  man  gets  an  idea  it  goes  to 
his  head,  and  he  becomes  at  least  semi-insane,  if 
not  wholly  so.  One  can  not  reason  with  him, 
for  he  is  unreasonable ;  he  would  go  through  fire 
for  his  idea  to-day,  but  to-morrow  if  he  by  chance 
gets  another  idea  the  old  goes  to  the  scrap  heap. 
A  balky  horse  is  a  joy  forever  compared  with  a 
typical  specimen  of  the  bull-headed  man.  There 
are  but  few  such  in  the  teaching  profession, 
though  many  occasionally  suffer  from  a  light  at- 
tack of  this  insanity. 

5.  The  arbitrary  man. 

The  arbitrary  man  is  uncontrolled  by  law,  des- 
potic, tyrannical.  He  is  capricious,  uncertain, 
unreasonable,  changeful.  He  is  not  a  respecter 
of  the  rights  of  others.  The  arbitrary  man 
should  never  be  confused  in  thought  with  the 
fearless,  prompt,  decisive,  but  withal  reasonable 
man, — the  real  executive. 

6.  The  man  who  is  "owned" 

The  man  who  is  owned  is  not  his  own  man. 
He  belongs  to  another,  and  he  dances  whenever 
his  owner  fiddles.  He  never  knows  what  to  say 

[46] 


till  he  gets  the  tip.  When  the  string  is  pulled  he 
jumps.  If  you  wish  to  know  what  his  master 
wants,  watch  the  man  who  is  owned.  Some  men 
are  thus  dominated  by  a  powerful  member  of  the 
board,  some  by  book  companies,  some  by  other 
school  men,  some  by  politicians.  Those  who 
have  sold  themselves  probably  did  not  fully  real- 
ize the  significance  of  it  at  the  time.  There  are 
fewer  and  fewer  such  men.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
the  tribe  will  soon  be  extinct.  Any  man  who 
sells  himself,  literally  sells  himself  to  the  devil. 
//  any  man  should  be  a  free  man,  it  is  the  teacher 
of  the  youth  of  a  free  country. 

7.  The  man  whose  special  phobia  is  fear  of  losing 

his  job. 

Men  of  this  type  are  afraid  of  offending  the 
butcher,  the  baker,  the  candlestick-maker.  They 
are  especially  afraid  of  offending  the  board  mem- 
bers, the  most  influential  teachers,  and  the  most 
influential  citizens.  A  little  bit  of  criticism 
drives  them  into  a  panic  of  trepidation.  They 
rush  around  like  mad  to  set  themselves  right;  they 
run  to  the  editors,  to  their  friends,  to  the  board. 
One  would  think  the  heavens  were  falling. 
They  rattle  around  like  a  dry  bean  in  a  quart 
measure. 

[47] 


8.  The  old  fogy  and  the  faddist. 

Here  are  contrasting  types.  One  is  wedded 
to  the  gods  of  Israel,  and  the  other  sets  up  his  al- 
tars to  the  unknown  gods.  One  is  content  with 
the  old  because  it  is  old,  because  he  is  familiar 
with  it.  The  other  is  dissatisfied  with  the  old  be- 
cause it  is  old.  Whatever  is  old  is  "behind  the 
times."  "The  newest  is  the  best/'  so  he  goes 
rainbow-chasing  day  after  day  and  year  after 
year.  The  old  fogy  snoozes  on,  too  lazy  to  try 
to  comprehend  what  the  world  is  doing. 

9.  The  showy  man. 

The  farther  the  showy  man  is  away  from  home 
the  better  he  shows  up.  When  he  is  far  away 
from  home  he  seems  to  have  the  proportions  of 
Jove,  but  at  home, — well,  let  the  mantle  of  char- 
ity fall. 


I  do  not  want  any  man  to  put  on  any  coat  that 
does  not  fit  him.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
in  every  line  I  have  had  real  flesh-and-blood  men 
in  mind,  nothing  is  personal.  My  main  pur- 
pose is  to  warn  young  men  against  pitfalls,  and  it 

[48] 


has  been  the  farthest  from  my  intention  or  desire 
to  wound  sensitive  feelings.  I  am  genuinely 
proud  of  most  of  my  fellow-workers  in  the  edu- 
cational field.  To  know  them  is  to  admire  them. 
Even  the  best  of  them  doubtless  have  their 
faults — who  does  not? — but  their  large  and  gen- 
erous natures,  their  devotion  to  ideals,  their  tire- 
less efforts  to  perform  conscientiously  the  duty 
that  lies  nearest  them  are  the  conspicuous  facts  in 
their  lives.  Any  man  who  finds  his  portrait 
sketched  in  the  preceding  pages  will  probably  do 
one  of  two  things :  he  will  be  angered  and  will 
say  ugly  things  about  the  man  who  revealed  him 
to  himself,  or  he  will  say,  "It  is  true,  but  it  shall 
not  remain  true." 


[49] 


VII.  SUGGESTIONS  TO  YOUNG  AND  AMBI- 
TIOUS PEINCIPALS  AND  SUPEEINTENDENTS. 

Many  times  in  the  past  few  years  I  have  been 
asked  the  question,  "Do  you  think  it  is  worth  my 
while  to  try  to  qualify  myself  for  the  superin- 
tendency  of  a  large  city?"  The  question  is  some- 
times rather  embarrassing,  for  the  reason  that  the 
man  who  asks  it  is  not,  so  far  as  one  is  able  to 
judge,  qualified  by  natural  gifts  for  such  a  posi- 
tion. Sometimes  the  questioner  is  hopelessly 
commonplace  in  appearance.  To  overcome  this 
handicap  he  must  be  possessed  of  unusual  abil- 
ity,— ability  that  makes  itself  manifest  in  strik- 
ing and  original  ways.  One  of  my  acquaint- 
ances is  about  the  most  insignificant  looking  man 
I  ever  saw,  yet  he  has  an  international  reputation 
as  a  thinker.  Another  man  I  am  acquainted 
with  is  about  the  homeliest  man  I  ever  saw,  yet 
he  is  a  brilliant  public  speaker.  Appearance  is 
not  everything,  yet  a  man  who  does  not  impress 
one  at  first  sight  as  a  man  of  power,  has  an  extra 
burden  placed  upon  him  in  his  efforts  to  advance. 

Sometimes  the  questioner  is  hopelessly  com- 
[50] 


monplacein  respect  to  his  native  ability.  He 
lacks  originality,  lacks  the  power  of  leadership. 
He  has  neither  freshness  of  mind  nor  enthusiasm. 
At  best  he  is  a  plodder.  Such  a  man  can  never 
advance  far  in  the  teaching  profession. 

Sometimes  the  questioner  is  coarse-grained, 
lacking  the  finer  instincts  of  the  gentleman ;  or  on 
the  other  hand,  he  is  so  delicate  and  sensitive  that 
he  would  wilt  under  the  simoons  of  criticism  to 
which  a  city  superintendent  is  often  subjected. 
A  young  man  who  wishes  to  become  a  profes- 
sional city  superintendent,  aspiring  to  large 
things,  should  subject  himself  to  merciless  but 
just  self-analysis  and  self-criticism.  If  he 
wishes  to  measure  himself  to  see  if  he  is  capable 
of  large  things,  let  him  first  ask  himself,  What 
have  I  ever  done  that  is  out  of  the  ordinary?  Do 
I  possess  gifts  of  speech?  Powers  of  analysis? 
Great  powers  of  generalization?  Insight  into 
human  nature?  Ability  as  a  leader?  Unusual 
tact  and  diplomacy?  Unusual  ability  as  an  in- 
structor? Great  energy  and  staying  qualities  as 
an  intellectual  worker  ?  Ability  as  an  executive  ? 
What,  in  short,  are  the  qualities  I  possess  that 
Tom,  Dick  and  Harry  do  not  possess,  and  are 
these  qualities  of  a  sort  to  give  me  decided  advan- 
tage over  most  others  as  a  school  executive? 

[51] 


There  are  a  few  qualities  the  superintendent  must 
possess  and  one  of  these  is  executive  ability.  I 
would  refer  the  reader  to  the  chapter  on  "The  Su- 
perintendent" for  further  discussion  of  this  topic. 
It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  differences  between 
men  are  small  but  of  tremendous  importance. 

But  let  us  suppose  the  young  man  in  question 
decides  he  will  try  to  compass  great  things  in  this 
direction.  How  shall  he  proceed?  First  a  col- 
lege  education  if  he  hasn't  it ;  next  graduate  work 
in  pedagogy,  psychology,  school  supervision,  his- 
tory of  education,  etc. ;  next  experience  in  a  sub- 
ordinate position  under  a  good  city  superintend- 
ent; next  a  small  city  superintendency ;  next  the 
biggest  thing  he  can  get.  This  I  believe  to  be 
the  shortest  road  to  his  goal.  There  are  many 
dangers  to  be  met  and  overcome  on  the  way.  I 
shall  point  out  some  of  these  under  "don'ts." 

1.  Don't  get  lazy  and  quit  studying. 

2.  Don't  expect  anybody  to  boost  you. 

3.  Go  to  a  university  during  the  summer  and 
study  for  all  you  are  worth. 

4.  Don't  settle   down   contentedly  in    one 
place  for  a  long  time  unless  you  and  your  schools 
are  growing. 

5.  Don't  "knock." 

6.  Don't  neglect    to    cultivate    the    social 
graces. 

[52] 


7.  Don't  grow  careless  about  your  English. 

8.  Read  the  best  literature  as  a  pastime. 

9.  Lend  others  a  helping  hand. 

10.  Don't  worry  because  you  are  not  getting 
on  faster,  and  do  not  think  your  life  wasted  if 
you  do  not  get  very  far. 

11.  Give  everybody  his  due;  be  generous,  and 
do  not  let  the  shortcomings  of  others  weigh  too 
heavily  upon  you. 

12.  Go  to  educational  associations  and  make 
the  acquaintance  of  the  ablest  educators  in  the 
country.     Visit  other  schools.     Read  the  great 
books  of  all  time. 

13.  Cultivate  constantly  a  prompt,  decisive 
but  courteous  manner. 

(  ^114.  Never  mind  about  holding  an  office  in  a 
teachers'  association.  Let  another  hold  the  office 
unless  it  comes  to  you  unsought. 

15.  If  you  fail  in  any  undertaking,  don't  lose 
courage  or  whine.     If  you  do,  you  stamp  your- 
self as  unworthy  and  commonplace. 

16.  KEEP  ON    STUDYING    MEN   AND   BOOKS. 
GET  IN   TOUCH  WITH   THE   WOELD   AND   BE   A 
PART  OF  IT. 


"In  the  final  analysis  all  great  success  depends 
upon  three  qualities:  judgment,  patience,  and 
courage." 

[53] 


VIII.    SUMMARY  OF  DUTIES. 

OF  THE 

SUPERINTENDENT  AND  SUPERVISING 
PRINCIPAL. 

1.  To  select  teachers,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  board. 

2.  Arrange  courses  of  study. 

3.  To  make  rules  and  fix  standards  for  grad- 
ing, classification  and  promotion  of  pupils. 

4.  To  assign  teachers  to  the  grades  or  positions 
they  are  to  fill,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
board. 

5.  To  inspect  the  work  of  teachers  and  give 
such  commendation,  help  and  suggestion  as  may 
seem  desirable. 

6.  He  should  get  and  deserve  the  confidence  of 
his  teachers,  and  should  learn  their  ideas  as  to 
course  of  study  and  other  matters  in  which  they 
are  concerned. 

7.  To  hold  teachers'  meetings. 

8.  To  assist  teachers  in  the  government  of  their 
schools. 

[54] 


9.  To  test  pupils ;  to  encourage  pupils. 

10.  To  report  to  parents  on  progress  of  pupils. 

11.  To  meet  parents  who  wish  information 
about  the  schools,  or  who  have  criticisms  to  offer. 

12.  To  see  that  all  pupils  are  in  school  that 
ought  to  be. 

13.  To  see  that  schools  are  supplied  with  ap- 
paratus. 

14.  Select  text-books,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  board. 

15.  To  recommend  the  dismissal  of  incompe- 
tent teachers. 

16.  He  should  look  after  minute  details  with 
the  utmost  care,  but  should  not  neglect  the  weight- 
ier matters.    He  should  be  a  field  man  rather  than 
an  office  man. 

17.  To  bring  to  attention  of  the  board  needed 
alterations  and  repairs. 

18.  To  communicate  to  the  board  the  wishes 
of  teachers. 

19.  To  communicate  to  the  teachers  the  deci- 
sions of  the  board. 

20.  To  defend  teachers  from  all  unjust  at- 
tacks,  and  from  charges  that  have  not  been 
proved. 

21.  To  unify  and  make  efficient  the  work  of 
the  entire  teaching  body. 

[55] 


22.  To  assist  teachers  in  selecting  suitable 
books  and  journals  for  their  professional  improve- 
ment. 

23.  To  visit  other  schools,  attend  educational 
associations,  etc. 

24.  To  correlate  the  educational  agencies  in  the 
community. 

25.  To  lead  in  educational  progress.    To  point 
out  the  educational  needs  of  the  community. 

26.  To  co-operate  with  and  assist  county  su- 
perintendents whenever  possible. 

27.  To  address  the  people  of  his  community 
from  time  to  time  on  educational  topics. 

28.  To  make  use  of  the  local  newspapers  to 
improve  educational  sentiment,  and  to  further 
educational  progress. 

29.  To  discuss  with  members  of  the  board  and 
leading  citizens  his  educational  plans,  especially 
those  involving  additional  expenditure  of  money. 

30.  To  keep  free  from  all  attempts  to  elect  his 
friends  to  positions  on  the  board;  also  from  petty 
local  politics. 

The  superintendent  should  be  a  leader  in  edu- 
cational thought  in  his  community;  should  lead 
and  inspire  his  teachers;  should  be  a  model  of 
manhood  for  pupils  and  young  men  of  the  com- 
munity. 

[56] 


The  superintendent  who  simply  fills  in  a  per- 
functory way  the  position  he  holds  will  never  hold 
a  better  position,  or  at  least  will  not  deserve  a  bet- 
ter position.  The  only  way  advancement  can  be 
made  is  to  grow  too  big  for  the  position  now  held. 
This  can  not  be  done  by  swelling  up  like  the  frog 
in  the  fable,  but  by  solid  attainments,  both  schol- 
arly and  professional,  and  by  growth  in  personal- 
ity and  executive  ability. 


or  THF 
UNIVER: 

•S1L2 


[57] 


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